"The Lumber Company"

I was always impressed with the Pirates of the 1970's.  Just like the Reds, they managed to remain contenders throughout the whole decade.  They also won two titles (1971 & 1979) on opposite ends of the decade, which shows a lot of continuity.  The only common thread between both of those teams was Willie Stargell.  "Pops" as he was known as by the late 70's was a 38 year old slugger, who turned back the hands of time and had one more golden season in the sun.  More importantly he was the steadying veteran force who gave out stars for the players to put on their caps.  Pops shared he MVP with Keith Hernandez, who was riding high on...the white powder he picked up while visiting Pittsburgh.

During the 70's the Bucs won 2 World Championships (1971 & 1979) by beating the Orioles and thus eliminating the O's from "team of the decade" debate.  The Bucs won the NL East an impressive 5 times during the decade (71, 72, 74, 75, 79).  There is no doubt in my mind that they would have easily won the '73 flag if it wasn't for the untimely passing of the great Roberto Clemente.  For most of the season the Bucs tinkered with catcher Manny Sanguillen in right field until they decided to give a young Dave Parker a shot.  Parker would have been better served sitting behind the great Clemente and following his leadership instead of being given the impossible task of replacing a baseball deity.

Pittsburgh's pitching was very similar to the Reds.  Good enough, but not great.  The Bucs always had great bullpen work.  Dave Giusti was a mainstay as the team's closer for the first half of the decade.  Kent Tekulve and his submarine delivery took over in the latter part of the decade.  John Candelaria was a true staff ace.  The "Candyman"  was a true 20 game winner, who anchored the Bucs staff for over a decade.

The most interesting storyline in Pittsburgh during the 70's was the inexplicable demise of staff ace Steve Blass.  Blass won 2 complete games in the '71 series vs the Orioles and had and outstanding '72 season, then for some unknown reason he lost his control and forgot how to throw strikes.  At the an age (31) when most pitchers are at the height of their powers, Blass was back in the minors trying to find the strike zone.  Between the loss of Clemente and the loss of Blass' control the Bucs '73 season was doomed.  Thankfully for Steel-town fans the team added some reliable arms and won division titles in '74 and '75.